Partially as a result of there being something of a gap in the existing Content Creation User Group for the discussions on improving the state of content creation in SL, and as a result of RedPoly’s suggestions for improving the way in which mesh clothing fits, a new “informal” Content Creation User Group has been formed.

The organisers for the new group are Geenz Spad, Siddean Munro, Ellie Spot and Oz Linden. Geenz will be the chair for meetings, and Oz will act as the liaison with Linden Lab. It is intended for developers and content creators alike, with the aim of providing a collaborative atmosphere which will allow members to discuss features, workflows, and modifications with the aim of enhancing content creation for everyone on SL. As such, the focus of the new group will be:

• To provide a forum in which content creators can voice their ideas and / or concerns about the overall state of content creation in SL
• Encourage the spread of knowledge about content creation methodologies and tools
• Suggest / discuss new ways to facilitate content creation in SL (including the use of new tools or possible improvements to the viewer)
• To provide a focal-point where content creators can have questions answered and issues highlighted that might otherwise go unanswered in other user groups.

It is hoped that eventually, this new forum will be the means by which proposals for new functionality that will be beneficial to the community can be proposed and developed. This would in turn lead to prototypes being developed, with Linden Lab’s approval of said functionality, that will enable the potential enhancements to SL’s content creation capabilities to be demonstrated.

In chatting with me about the new group, Geenz had this to say, “As it stands, the Mesh Import User Group is for just that: mesh import; it’s not intended for discussing how we can make content creation better. The Open Development is for discussing things already in the open source programme’s development pipeline, so that’s not really the place to discuss this sort of thing either.

“Then of course you have the Scripting, Sim, and other groups, [and] discussing how we can improve content creation in general just doesn’t fit anywhere; it’s almost as if it’s in limbo. This is intended to fill that gap, while at the same time staying clear of the existing user groups in its purpose.”

A wiki page has been established for the group, and will contain meeting agendas, etc., and which also summarises the group’s function. The group itself will meet between 15:00-16:00 SLT on Tuesdays at the Hippotropolis Auditorium in SL, commencing on Tuesday 3rd July.

CCIUG articles in this blog

As the new month arrives, Linden Lab appears to be kicking-off a number of outward initiatives.

Splash Screen Images Updated

First comes the latest set of secondlife.com splash screen images, which match the current masquerade banner theme on the SL Marketplace. This time there are three images in the set, which have been supplied by Strawberry Singh and Winter Jefferson, Whimsy Winx, and Sissy Scarborough and Mel Vanbeek respectively.

Remember that in order to see the new images, you’ll need to log out of secondlife.com.

WhatIs Page Re-vamped

In keeping with the use of user-generated content, the What Is Second Life webpage has been given a revamp. For those unfamiliar with the WhatIs page, it has been the page that tries to explain Second Life (no easy task in and of itself), and is accessible from the link on the secondlife.com splash screen, or at http://secondlife.com/whatis/.

Previously, this page played host to the Linden Lab created video promoting Second Life:

In the new layout, WhatIs replaces the LL video with a selection of user-created videos intended to help showcase Second Life to the novice / potential user, complete with an additional JOIN NOW button that takes people to the sign-up page.

Also included is the What’s Hot section of the Destination Guide, while in the What Is section, there is a link that displays the most recent posts to the my.sl social feed (or if you are an existing user and already logged-in to secondlife.com, to your own my.sl feed page).

E-mail Campaign

LL look to be trying to improve their outward communications, with the launch of an e-mail campaign designed to encourage people to follow the Second.Life account on my.secondlife.com (my.sl for short). This account promises to be a provider of up-to-the minute news, etc., with the strapline: Be the first to know. Breaking SL News and More. Get the latest community updates, beta invites and more, without leaving Second Life!

This is interesting as it more-or-less amounts to the first “official” statement from Linden Lab on the subject of how to keep abreast of news from the company since Amanda Linden infamously announced the launch of the Lithium “Community Communications Platform” (which runs the current blogs and forums) – and then told users that to keep up with LL’s news on SL, they should go visit Facebook…

Continue reading “Log-in splash images updated, WhatIs re-vamped and a call to video makers” →

Tateru brings word that Linden Lab have e-mailed those involved with the Second Life Solution Provider Programme to inform them it will be shut down at the end of May 2012.

With the closure, the current Solution Provider directory will be moved to a new wiki page, where information will be presented in a “shortened version” of the directory and which Solution Providers will be able to maintain themselves.

The e-mail from Linden Lab itself reads:

Dear Solution Providers,

Thank you for your participation in the Solution Provider program. As of May 31, 2012 Linden Lab will be officially ending the Solution Provider program.

As part of the program’s closure, we will do the following: 

• Replace the current Solution Provider Directory with a shortened version on the Second Life wiki (more information on the modified Directory below).
• Close the SLDev group and in-world region.
• Remove all Solution Provider program related wiki pages on secondlife.wiki.com [sic*].

As of May 31, a modified version of the Directory will be located on the Second Life wiki. The direct link will be sent out closer to the 31st. It will include the name of your company (with a link to your company’s website), services provided, country/countries where you work, languages, and company description. All the above information is taken directly from your current listing. Once live, you will be able to modify your listing by logging onto the Second Life wiki.

It has been a pleasure working with and getting to know so many of you over the past 4 years. I wish you all the best in your endeavours within and outside of Second Life.

Regards, 
Madhavi Linden

The news is unsurprising in some respects: the directory as it stands appears to be largely stagnant, and the last remnant of the secondlifegid.net Technology Programmes pages (which otherwise resolve back to people’s SL dashboards), and many of the case studies listed within the pages no longer exist in-world. This reflects the fact that the directory does not lend itself to easy update in its present form, and has grown increasingly stale since the lab shifted its focus away from real world business use of Second Life in 2010 to concentrate on the product as a consumer platform.

Similarly, the SLDev group has been largely ignored over the last three years, with much of what used to occur within it having been shifted to mailing lists such as the open-source developer’s mailing list. These mailing lists will not be impacted by the close of the SLDev group.

*As we know, the SL wiki URL is in fact wiki.secondlife.com.

With thanks to Tateru Nino

Daniel Voyager brings sad news that Second Life resident Kev Sweetwater has passed away in real life. He was 35.

Active within Second Life since 2008, Kev was heavily involved in BURN2, the Department of Public Works and SL8B, serving as a core team lead in all three, as well as being an advisor to the LEA.

A special commemoration and celebration of Kev’s SL life will be held on Saturday May 19th at the Burning Man Deep Hole region, from 18:00 through 21:00 SLT. All those who knew him, or who wish to remember his contributions to Second Life are invited to attend, memorials may be made to standup2cancer.org.

In addition, a photo memorial  to Kev is being arranged: those wishing to contribute Second Life snapshots are asked to contact Marianne McCann in-world.

Condolences are offered to Kev’s family, and all who knew him in Second Life.

Given Daniel and Kev were close friends, I would ask that you leave messages of sympathy on Daniel’s blog as a mark of respect of their friendship and Daniel’s loss. Comments are therefore closed here. Thank you. 

Links

• Daniel Voyage’s blog piece
• Kev Sweetwater’s SL blog